Emerald's Way
by Maya-ma
Summary: Follow Eris Maple as she battles her way the the Hoenn league. But with Team Aqua and Magma plotting, will she be able to reach her dream?
1. The Unwanted Change

**Disclaimer**: I don't own pokemon. Wither it be anime/manga/or game, I don't own it! So, now that we've got that out of the way.

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She couldn't believe it. Her parents had really gone though with it. They really moved the family all the way to Hoenn. Eris Maple sighed and brought her knees up to her chest.

Eris was a young 18 year old girl, a depressed 18 year old girl. Her hand went up and brushed her shoulder length red hair out of her gray eyes. She looked up, watching a box that threatened to fall on her, ready to move.

_What are they thinking? Mom isn't a good driver! Shouldn't the moving company have supplied a driver as well?_ She thought to herself as she crawled over to the right, having avoided a falling box, a result of a bump in the road.

Needless to say, by the time the moving truck had stopped, Eris was in a foul mood. And seeing her mother's unbelievably cheerful face, didn't help.

Eris loved her mom, no doubt about that, but sometimes...

"Eris! Look at it! Isn't this town, Littleroot I think it was called, beautiful!" Her mother clasped her hands together and smiled, her light brown eyes sparkling. Seeing her mother so happy, Eris decided not to comment.

Eris stretched, reaching her hands up to the sky, letting her black tank top over her gray tank rise and show off her flat stomach. She finished stretching and put her hands in her khaki colored cargo capris.

"Look at our new house! Isn't it cute? Oh, you're going to have your own room!" Her mother was ecstatic, her curly red hair almost bouncing along with her.

Eris bit her tongue, not wanting to upset her mother. It wasn't like her own room was such a big deal, she was an only child, she was bound to have her own room.

They walked inside and saw various Vigoroth moving things around, Eris frowned, hoping nothing would be damaged and started to walk upstairs.

"Oh, before I forget! Your dad bought you a new clock, don't forget to set it!" She heard her mother yell up the stairs, making Eris sigh.

When she walked into her room, she frowned. White, just...white. Did the previous owners even TRY to add color to the house? Eris doubted it. A plain new bed, courtesy of her dad. Along with that a computer desk, with a computer, a counter right next to it with the previously mentioned new clock.

She picked the clock up and made a face. It was way too girly for her tastes, but she shrugged and set the time. It was pretty early still, only 1:30 in the afternoon. She set the clock back down and sat in front of the computer.

There really wasn't anything interesting to do, though a Potion caught her attention. Did they come as a free gift for buying a computer? Its not like she needed it, she had no pokemon.

Despite the fact that her family was quite well off, she had never bothered to get a pokemon and become a trainer. Her father said it was just plain laziness, and even though Eris was lazy, it wasn't the reason she didn't have a pokemon.

_Heck, even I don't know why I don't have a pokemon._ She thought bitterly. Perhaps she should ask dad to get her one. Despite those thoughts, she withdrew the Potion. Maybe she would give it to dad, or use it on his pokemon.

"ERIS! COME QUICK!" She heard her mother scream downstairs. Startled, Eris stood up quickly, hitting her knee on the computer desk. She cursed her luck but ignored the pain and ran out of her room and downstairs.

"Oh, Eris. Come quick, your dad might be on TV!" Her mother said, standing in front of the downstairs TV. Eris frowned and then winced, the pain from her knee getting to her.

This is what her mom made her hurt herself over? Eris had nearly fallen down the stairs, afraid it was some real emergency.

"Mom, we see dad **everyday**, so what if he was on TV?" Eris said, but her mother ignored this, making Eris sigh. She walked over to the dining table, about to sit down when her mother remembered something.

"ERIS!" Once again, her mother's yell startled Eris.

"Dammit! What now!" Eris yelled back after having hit her knee, in the same spot. Eris sat down on a chair and examined her knee. Her mother laughed it off.

"Oh Eris! I know you're upset about having to move, but really." Eris resisted the urge to fall off the chair and hit her head on the table. Just barely resisted.

"Our next door neighbors, they're really good friends of your fathers. You've got to go meet them and introduce yourself." Her mother said and sat down on the chair across from Eris. Eris frowned and rubbed her knee.

"And why would I do that? Why don't you?" Eris said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. Her mother's hand went up and covered a girlish giggle. Eris rolled her eyes, getting an idea as to why SHE had to do it.

"Because silly! They have a son about your age!" She said and clasped her hand together. Eris' mother had always been a romantic person, making Eris wonder sometimes just how her mother and father could have ended up together.

Eris decided to interrupt her mother, before she went too far into a silly daydream about how she and the neighbor would fall in love.

"I seriously don't care." Eris said tonelessly only to be ignored once again. Eris got up and started to walk out the door.

"Have fun Eris!" Her mother called from behind her, the only response was a door slamming shut.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." She mumbled to herself as she leaned against the door of her new home. She ran a hand through her crimson colored hair and with a sigh, pushed herself off the door.

The neighbor's home wasn't too far. At most, a 5 minute walk from her own house. Eris knocked on the door, though her mind screamed for her to go back home. She stood there for a few seconds, before a woman older than her mother answered.

The woman looked at Eris up and down with her dark brown eyes, making Eris uncomfortable.

"You wouldn't happen to be our new neighbor, would you?" The woman asked after getting a good look at Eris. Eris wanted so much to just say 'No' and go back home, but then she'd end up with a 'talk' from her mother.

So, Eris smiled weakly and nodded. The woman grinned and opened the door wide, all but shoving Eris inside. Their house wasn't that much different from hers. More decorations, more color, that was it. But knowing her mom, that wouldn't take long to fix.

Eris took a good look at the woman that was to be her neighbor. Waist length snow white hair with a khaki colored sun dress and tanned skin. A cheerful look on her face, slightly unnerved Eris even though her own mother was like that.

_Man, I know they'll become **wonderful** friends._ Eris thought.

"This is just wonderful! So you're Norman's daughter? How wonderful!" The woman said, Eris only smiled weakly while the woman continued.

"I'm Mrs. Birch. My husband is out doing some fieldwork, so you missed him. This is my daughter, Emily!" Mrs. Birch said in one breath, making Eris wonder if she'd ever take another breath.

"Oh! You must meet my son, Brendan! He should be upstairs, why don't you go see him?" Mrs. Birch said. Somehow, Eris found herself at the top of the stairs and walking towards this boy's, Brendan's she corrected herself, room. Did Mrs. Birch have the same idea in mind as her mom?

She didn't think about it any further, she walked into his room. This wasn't like a typical boys' room. She had many guy friends back at her old home, and their rooms were messy, walls covered with posters of girls or pokemon championships. This boys room, was more about nature, and pokemon in nature.

And it was clean, yes, clean. Eris could barely believe it. Maybe she'd gotten Emily's room by mistake? She thought about it and walked deeper into the room, fascinated by the decorations. She felt something hard bounce off her foot and looked down. She had accidentally kicked a red and white pokeball. Fascinated, she bent down to pick it up, but was interrupted.

"Hey! Who are you and what are you doing here!" A voice from behind her asked. Forgetting the pokeball, she spun around, ignoring the pain from her doubly injured knee, and looked straight at the boy she guessed was Brendan.

"My names Eris Maple. I'm you're new neighbor, your mom told me you might be up here, so I came up to introduce myself." She said, somehow it sounded tacky to her. The boy in front of her 'Ahed' and nodded.

"So you're our new neighbor. I was expecting a boy when I heard you were a Gym Leader's kid." He said and came to pick up the pokeball she was previously going to get.

He had snow white hair with a green bandanna, something from his mother no doubt, and bright blue eyes. He wore a black and red shirt, with black and gray short and...black pants underneath that?

Eris took that boy comment, crossing her arms and glaring. Brendan seemed to realize that glare and tried to fix his mistake.

"Uh...I mean...Its cause..." He **tried**. Eris scowled.

"What? Just because my dad's a Gym Leader, I was suppose to be a boy? Is that required to be a trainer too?" She growled, Brendan gulped and took a hesitant step back.

"Er...No! I just meant cause there were so few serious girl trainers!" He said. Eris thought it over and knew it was true. She dropped her scowl and instantly smiled.

"True."

Brendan sighed. He didn't want to get on her bad side.

"So, I take it you don't have any pokemon?" He asked, seeing the lack of pokeballs. Eris frowned and nodded.

"Want me to get you one? I could...Darn! I was suppose to held dad out with that research. I'm sorry Eris, guess thats gonna have to wait." He said. Eris laughed and nodded.

"Na, its okay. I'll just show myself out." She said, but Brendan had already gone to his computer, forgetting about her.

_Well, maybe coming over here wasn't that bad. He didn't hit on me, so thats a good sign. Plus, he seemed pretty cool, despite that little boy comment._ She thought to herself as she walked around her new hometown. Her thoughts were interrupted by someone tugging on her hand.

Eris stopped and looked down. A little girl with brown hair in pigtails looked at her with big brown eyes. The small girl smiled when she saw she had Eris' attention and pointed to what seemed like an exit for the town.

"Could you go look over there for me please? I hear some bad noises other there, but I'm too scared to go look." The little girl said and gave Eris a pout. Eris shrugged. Why not? They both walked over there, the little girl behind her.

Eventually Eris noticed the little girl was no longer following her and looked back. The girl was there waving at her. Eris frowned, why did she agree to this?

"Ah! Somebody! Please help!" She heard a voice yell after she had gone a few more feet. A chunky man wearing lab coat was being chased around by a strange pokemon. Its fur alternated between light and dark brown and it wouldn't let the man go. The man seemed to have seen Eris and yelled once again.

"Young lady! Help me! Take one of the- OW!" He was cut off by the pokemon nipping at his heels. Eris held back a laugh.

"One of the pokeballs over there and use the pokemon inside to save me!" He yelled once more before being bitten again. Eris looked around and finally saw a bag that had spilled three pokeballs.

"Yo! Which one?" She yelled back. The man yelled once again as the rampaging pokemon caught up with him again.

"It doesn't matter!" He yelled. Eris shrugged and picked up the middle one. She threw the pokeball out and watched as an orange bird came out.

_Man, just my luck._ She thought. The man seemed to catch sight of what pokemon Eris had chosen.

"Torchic! Excellent! Have it use scratch attack." He ordered. Eris hated taking orders, but eh, it was the kind of situation that she knew nothing about.

"Er..okay. Torchic? Use scratch." She said lamely. The orange colored bird chirped and lept into action. It used its sharp talons to scratch the chasing pokemon, diverting its attention. Without warning, it jumped at Torchic and tackled it, sending sprawling towards Eris' feet.

"Don't let it get away with that Torchic! Use another scratch!" Eris cheered, somehow getting into the battle. Torchic nodded in agreement with her and ran up towards the other pokemon, scratching it right in the face. The other pokemon let out a howl and ran into the tall grass behind it.

Torchic rejoiced and ran right up to Eris. Eris picked it up and held it out at arms length.

"That was great. You were unbeatable." She congratulated it. The man they'd saved walked up to them, having picked up the two other pokeballs.

"That was amazing. Hey, you're Norman's daughter, right?" He asked. Eris hugged Torchic to her chest and nodded.

"Thats great. I'm Professor Birch. You were great with Torchic. Say what? I'll let you keep her, as a welcoming present." He said. Eris smiled and looked down at Torchic, who also seemed to be happy about this arrangement.

"Really? Thanks Professor!" Eris said. Prof. Birch grinned and nodded.

"Why don't we go to my Lab. I'll tell you more about Torchic, and clear up any question about Hoenn you might have." Eris nodded and followed the Professor to his lab.

_Hmm. Maybe meeting the neighbors wasn't such a bad idea._

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**Maya-ma**: So..yeah. I've been wanting to do a story for Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald. R&R please! Be gentle.


	2. The Goodbye

**Disclaimer**: I don't own pokemon. Wither it be anime/manga/or game, I don't own it! So, now that we've got that out of the way.

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Eris was leaning with her hip against one of the many cluttered tables inside Professor Birch's Lab. She held back a yawn and felt her eyes begin to water because of it. Professor Birch was explaining basic knowledge, something even she knew.

Eris (despite the opinions that others might have) wasn't stupid. She had studied about Hoenn before they'd moved. She knew about the pokemon here, the cities and towns, the way to get to them and things like that. The exact same things he was telling her.

But, she decided to be nice, especially since he'd given her Torchic.

"Ne? Professor, I already know all of this. Dad made me get...acquainted with the region." She said. The Professor stopped talking and rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh? Sorry. I guess I'm use to more..." He said and stopped, trying to find the right word.

"What? Younger trainers?" She asked, her voice lower than it had been a while ago. He shook his head.

"No. I'm more used to trainers only starting out with little or no knowledge about the pokemon world." He explained. Eris nodded her head slowly.

_Geeze. Brendan and the Professor. One can tell they're father and son._ She thought and looked down at the bird like pokemon still in her arms.

"You know what Professor?" She said after a few moments. Professor Birch stopped talking and looked at her, waiting for her to continue. After a few more seconds she did.

"I...think I might want to start a pokemon journey. I've been holding out for 8 years, I didn't really know why though. I guess...I was waiting for the right pokemon, like Torchic here." Eris said. Torchic heard and understood this.

'Chic! Tor! Tor Chic Tor!' She chirped and wiggled in her arms. Eris smiled and hugged it close.

"I think thats a great idea Eris. I know you and Torchic are going to go very far together." He said and patted her back. Eris grunted lightly, he had a heavy hand. She smiled weakly at him and pushed back her crimson hair away from her gray eyes. Professor Elm noticed and instantly apologized, but Eris waved it away with her hand.

"Na. Its cool Professor. Torchic and I will get all the way to the top! Just watch. Now, I gotta go tell mom about this." She said and smiled. Professor Birch nodded and watched her walk away, before remembErisg something and called her back.

Eris, as it should be obvious by now, wasn't the luckiest of people. But this, it seemed as if Fate wanted to have a little fun. As she turned around to look at the Professor, she banged her (already hurt knee) against one of his many tables.

"Shit-ake Mushrooms!" She yelled, but modified her language for the Professor's sake. He winced and saw as Torchic landed on its claws on the ground and Eris covered her knee.

"Eris! I'm so sorry! I just wanted to give you some tool with which to start your journey!" He yelled and covered his eyes.

'Tor? Chic?' Torchic quietly chirped to the quietly cursing Eris. Eris let out a slow breath from between her teeth before standing up straight.

"That would be great to get Professor." She said after taking a deep breath. Professor Birch laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. He pulled out a small case and walked to the table she had hurt herself with.

Eris was careful to mind the table as she neared it, not wanting another...accident. Torchic sat down by her foot, unable to get all the way up. He set down the case on the table and opened it, revealing a white rectangular device and five red and white pokeballs.

"Geeze Professor. Do you give this to ALL starting trainers? Or am I just special?" She said, joking and picked up the white device. She looked over to Professor Birch when he stayed quiet, not answErisg to her joke and frowned.

"Well, you see Eris. You're dad wanted this for you, in case you ever wanted to begin a pokemon journey." He said quietly. Eris' eyes narrowed as she stared at white device and her grip tightened.

"So...I guess that how much dad knows me. No fooling him." She whispered to herself and loosened her grip. She sighed and looked back at the Professor.

"So. What does this thing do? I hope its not just for decoration, 'cause it wouldn't cut it." She said, trying to change the subject. Professor Birch smiled and nodded in understanding.

"This is a pokedex. Its...like a programmable encyclopedia. As you travel, you'll see plenty of pokemon. This will keep record of all those you've seen and those you've caught. As well as giving you details and a small description of each pokemon." He explained and showed her what buttons to press for the wanted function.

Eris grinned and started to press buttons randomly. Professor Birch seemed to want to say something, but decided not to. It didn't seem like she was gonna break it, so might as well let Eris have fun.

"Well, thats just handy." She said and shoved it into one of her many pockets. She picked up the five minimized pokeballs and held them in between her fingers.

"I'm sure these will be handy, dandy as well." Eris said in a sing-song voice and shoved those into another pocket. Professor Birch smiled at her, or at least what seemed like, enthusiasm.

"Well thats all, I'm sure you're perfectly capable of handling things on your own." Professor Birch said, almost giving her another pat on the back. Eris gave a nervous laugh and ducked under his arm, and scooped up Torchic.

"Thanks for everything Professor. I'm gonna to know. I'll keep in touch to see how my pokedex it doing though." She said and starting to walk out again.

"Alright. Good luck Eris!" He yelled and waved. She walked out, shutting the door behind her and leaned against it with a sigh.

"Well dad. I guess I'm becoming the little trainer you've always wished I would be." She murmured before pushing off the door and walked home, Torchic nuzzling against her chest.

"Mom! I'm back." Eris yelled and was greeted in a matter of seconds. Her mother's curly hair seemed to be vibrating with excitement, along with the rest of her at the sight of a pokemon in Eris' arms.

"Darling! You're so much like your father. Becoming a pokemon trainer." Her mother cheered, slightly depressing Eris.

_Heh. So she thinks I became a trainer to be just like good old dad._ She thought bitterly, but didn't voice her thoughts. The next thing Eris knew, she was sitting down on one of the living rooms' couches and her old sneakers were being thrown off and replaced with another pair. Eris lifted her feet, examining the new shoes.

"These are some running shoes that I ordered a while back for you. I know how athletic you are, so when I heard these are specially designed to keep the wearer from becoming fatigued, I just had to get them for you!" Her mother said as she threw Eris' old shoes over her shoulder and somehow, made them go straight into a trash can.

"Ne...Thanks mom." Eris said and stood up, instantly feeling the difference in her feet. Somehow, her feet felt lighter, as if she were stepping on something other than the wooden floor. With a surprised look, she looked down at her feet and smiled.

"Whoa, they work." She exclaimed and watched as her mom giggled with excitement.

"Oh! Oh! Eris! Show me your pokemon!" Her mother said and took Torchic from Eris' arms before she could respond. Eris sighed, mentally hoping that Torchic would put up with her mother as well.

Luckily, Torchic seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Eris and simply chirped its hello. Her mother squealed and hugged Torchic close.

"Oh my! Its so warm! You chose a really cute pokemon Eris!" Her mother yelled and handed Eris back her winded Torchic. Her mother said something about fixing her a farewell snack and Eris looked in surprise as her mother quickly dashed into the kitchen.

"That...didn't take long. I figured she'd at least TRY to keep me from going. Oh well. I'm going to go pack and change into something more...travely." Eris sighed and walked to the stairs, Torchic in her arms.

She walked into the room she hadn't even slept in, and was happy that she hadn't unpacked. She set Torchic down on the fluffy bed, laughing as she sank right in, before setting her on the ground. She started to look through the various boxes, trying to find just what she would need.

"Aha! Here it is!" Eris yelled happily and pulled out a black and gray one strap backpack. She quickly took the pokeballs out of her pockets and shoved then into an easy to reach pocket within the backpack.

Eris walked over to her computer desk and picked up the Potion she'd retrieved earlier but never picked up. She shoved that into a different pocket. Eris then walked over to another box marked 'Clothes' and picked up two different pairs of clothes. One to change into, the other to use while on the road.

She stepped out of her previous clothes and donned on some black shorts with other gray ones underneath that reached halfway to her knee. She slipped on a white tank top with a black and gray sweater.

In her backpack, she shoved in a simple red skirt, a black tank top and another pair of long shorts. Eris wanted to be casual, wanting to devote most of her time to training her pokemon. She also found a sleeping bag and somehow managed to slip that into her bag.

"Well, I think thats good enough. Lets leave as soon as possible." Eris said and scooped Torchic back up. She looked down at the double orange chick in her arms and smiled.

"Well, lets get going. You ready?" Eris asked and laughed when Torchic chirped. They went downstairs and walked into the kitchen, and instantly jumped back.

"Darling! I've got some food for you to take!" Her mother said and held out for Eris a lunch back. Eris smiled weakly and took it, shoving the food in her one strap backpack. Suddenly, Eris was engulfed in a big hug. Her mother enveloped Eris, and Torchic, in huge hug. Eris could tell her mother was trying to hold back tears.

"Don't forget to stop by Petalburg and say hello to your dad." Her mother said as she composed herself and Eris walked out of the door. Eris only nodded, not exactly wanting to look back.

_Well, maybe I'll actually get to talk to dad without..._

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**Maya-ma**: So..yeah. A story that will sorta follow Emerald. R&R please! Be gentle.


	3. The Puffball

**0Disclaimer**: I don't own pokemon. Wither it be anime/manga/or game, I don't own it! So, now that we've got that out of the way...

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Wurmple. Eris hated the fact that there were so many Wurmple around. It wasn't that she hated the Wurmple themselves, she just hated their large numbers.

"Shit-ake! Why can't something else besides Wurmple appear!" She yelled to the sky as she neared the entrance to Oldale Town. Torchic chirped, showing that she totally agreed with Eris.

"Well, at least we're in Oldale. How about we buy some potions and all that jazz?" Eris said as she looked down at the orange bird next to her feet.

'Tor! Torchic Tor!' Torchic cheered and jumped up and down, flapping its little arm/wings. To Eris, it was a comical sight and she let out a few giggles before picking up Torchic.

"Yo! Eris!" Eris quickly turned around, looking for the person that had called her. She smiled a bit when she saw who. Brendan was running up to her, his white hair was a clear indication that it was him.

Eris waved with one hand, making sure Torchic wouldn't fall out of the other arm. Brendan eventually came up to them and placed his hands on his knees, panting.

"I...heard from...Dad...that you got...a pokemon...I wanted...to see...what you...chose." He said, taking deep breaths during each pause. Eris raised an eyebrow and laughed.

"Did you run ALL they way here?" She asked as she adjusted her grip on Torchic. Torchic had taken an interest in Brendan's white hair, and was trying to take some in her beak.

Brendan nodded and Eris sighed.

"Wow. You really must be a curious guy..." She muttered before holding out Torchic for Brendan to see. She didn't know if Brendan heard her comment, and if he did he ignored it. Brendan leaned in, trying to get a better look at Torchic. Unknown to Eris, Torchic opened its little beak, and let loose a series of glowing dots, right into Brendan's hair.

Instantly, both of them jumped back. Brendan began patting down his hair while Eris held Torchic closer to her body.

"Torchic! Why'd yo do that!" Eris yelled. Torchic chirped sadly and lowered its head. Brendan seemed to have finished patting down his singed hair and laughed.

"Na. Its okay. Its not the first time a pokemon had done something like that to me." He laughed while Eris looked at him dumbly. Eventually, even she couldn't hold back her laughter and joined him.

"Its okay Torchic, just don't do that again to a friend, okay?" Eris said and looked down at Torchic. Torchic looked up Eris sadly and nodded, Eris returned that with a smile.

"So Eris, how about a quick battle?" He asked after they stopped laughing. Eris stopped as well and looked at him before looking at Torchic.

"What do you say Torchic? Want to?" She asked her Torchic. Torchic seemed to think it over, before she nodded.

"You're on!" Eris said as she looked at Brendan and smirked. Brendan smirked as well and pulled out a pokeball and threw it out.

A light blue fish-like pokemon popped out. Orange cheeks pointed outwards and a lighter blue fin was on its bottom. It looked up at Eris and tilted its head.

'Mud?'

Eris smiled and put Torchic down on the ground. Torchic jumped up and down, while uttering a cry, trying to intimidate Brendan's pokemon.

"All right Mudkip! Start out with tackle!" Brendan called for Mudkip to attack first. The light blue pokemon instantly charged at Torchic. Eris frowned, knowing they'd have to go on the defensive so early in the battle.

"Dodge it Torchic and then use scratch!" Eris yelled out. Mudkip was able to lightly bump Torchic, but she used the strength of the attack to help her jump back.

Torchic then quickly ran up to Mudkip and used its claws to scratch it in the face. Mudkip let out a yell and tried to tackle Torchic again.

"Step back Mudkip and use Leer!" Brendan yelled from behind Mudkip.

Mudkip nodded and jumped back, and glared menacingly, or as menacing as a blue fish-like pokemon could be.

Despite the lack of intensity, it still affected Torchic. Torchic took a step back and closed her eyes.

"Torchic! Don't let that get to you. Use scratch again!" Torchic tried to snap out of it and shook her head quickly before running back up to Mudkip.

She delivered another sharp attack to Mudkip, again in the face. Mudkip couldn't take anymore, it simply keeled over. Brendan sighed and recalled Mudkip.

Torchic ran up to Eris and was picked up and hugged.

"Amazing. You haven't even been with Torchic a day, and you beat me. But I can see why Dad gave you a pokemon. Its clear that it trusts you." Brendan said as he walked up to Eris and Torchic. He held out his hand, and Eris took it.

"Good match." She said, meaning it. Brendan gave a cheesy smile.

"Meh. I'm sure we'll have others. And they'll get intense." He said. Brendan and Eris burst out laughing.

"Well, I gotta go. I need to finish helping Dad with some research. So, see ya around Eris!" Brendan said and ran into town. Eris gave a chuckle and looked down at the pokemon in her hands.

"Lets go buy those potions then head over to Dad's place." She said and began walking into town.

The potions weren't expensive, but Eris decided to buy other things. Paralyze Heals, Antidotes, A few more pokeballs, and other things.

"You can't be too careful." She said when she saw the look Torchic gave her as Eris packed everything in her one strap backpack. Torchic gave a sigh and shook her head. Eris stuck out her tongue.

They didn't stay long in Oldale. There was nothing there for them to do, so they continued on to Petalburg.

'Wing! Wingull! Gull!' That was the only warning Eris and Torchic got before a wild Wingull flew at them.

"Torchic! Use Scratch." Eris yelled, slightly shaken by the bold Wingull. Torchic jumped out in front of her and was able to get Wingull in the face. The Wingull was thrown back a bit before it opened its yellow beak and released a stream of water.

The water hit Torchic dead on. Torchic was thrown back a bit, and she shook her body, trying to get rid of all the water. Something she slightly managed, but her feathers puffed out. Torchic's already cute appearance was made cuter. It looked like an orange puffball.

Eris had to hold herself from laughing. The wild Wingull didn't even try to hold back its laughter. It laughed right at Torchic, angering her.

Without command or prompting from Eris, Torchic fired a fury of fire at the Wingull, catching it by surprise. The burned Wingull fell over, blackened.

Eris hardly thought about it, and threw a pokeball out. The red and white ball opened up, and after transforming Wingull into red energy, sucked it in.

For a while, the pokeball shook violently. The Wingull was fighting for its freedom. But its fight was in vain. Soon after, the pokeball stopped moving and with a _'ding'_, it affirmed that Eris had caught Wingull.

"Awesome! We caught a Wingull!" Eris yelled and rushed forward to pick up her pokemon. Torchic didn't seem as happy about that as Eris was. She only turned her head, or at least Eris guess she tried to, seeing as how Torchic was still one orange puffball. Eris, again, had to hold back her laughter, but a few chuckles did escape.

"Aw, don't be like that Torchic! You definitely beat Wingull!" She said, trying to cheer up her first pokemon. Torchic continued to look the other way. Eris sighed.

"Aw, come on!" She yelled, and scooped up the orange puffball.

"Who's my cute little puffball?" Eris cooed. Torchic seemed to slightly appreciate this and turned towards her.

'Tor!' She responded, making Eris smile.

"Exactly. You beat a pokemon that had a type advantage, not only once but TWICE! You're so great!" She continued to gloat. Torchic looked at her funny, as if to say 'you're overdoing it.'

Eris laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess I am. But come on, we still have to talk to Dad." Eris said, and with Torchic in her arms (still fluffy) and a new pokemon in her party, she walked towards the one place she _knew_ her father would be.

On their journey there, they weren't attacked anymore by savage Wingull's. There were a few Wurmple and Zigzagoon, but nothing Torchic couldn't handle.

"Wow, Petalburg is bigger that I expected..." Eris whispered. Torchic, who was still in her arms, minus the fluffiness, chirped in agreement.

"Well, lets find the Gym and talk to Dad." Eris whispered. Torchic looked up, and nuzzled closer to Eris.

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

**Maya-ma** Oh yeah! Another update! R&R please! I was going to have them catch a Ralts instead, but thought that a Wingull's Water Gun would be much funnier! Ja ne!

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**Update 8/25/06** Yeah. I didn't really like the way this chapter ended, so I changed the end a little. Thanks to Liam Pennington for catching my mistake!


	4. A Pokemon for a Friend

**0Disclaimer**: I don't own pokemon. Wither it be anime/manga/or game, I don't own it! So, now that we've got that out of the way...

* * *

It didn't take long to find the Gym, it was only a few blocks from the center of town, and was easy to spot because of the sad looking person that was walking out. 

Eris stood back, watching as the girl, a few years younger than Eris herself, maybe12, wiped a few tears away from her eyes. They almost bumped into each other, but Eris acted quickly and seemed to dance out of the way. The other girl looked up startled and instantly began to apologize.

She had light brown hair that reached her jawline and a white hat. She had light green eyes, shining with tears. She wore a black shirt with golden edges and a long sleeved light purple shirt that fell over her hands and covered nearly half of her short jean shorts. To top it all off, a white scarf hung off her neck, gold colored tights covered nearly half her thighs and she wore purple shoes with black and blue designs.

"Gomen, ano! I didn't mean to bother you, ano." She said lightly, and with a hint of fear in her voice. Eris raised an eyebrow and Torchic tilted her head.

"Meh. Its okay. Was sorta my fault for not moving out of your way earlier." Eris said, taking notice of the 'ano' the girl added after each sentence.

"I'm still so sorry, ano. I should have been paying more attention, ano." The girl repeated again. Eris laughed, startling the 'ano' girl.

"Geeze, you don't need to apologize. I'm Eris, and you are..." She trailed off, waiting for the other girl to introduce herself. The other girl blushed furiously and quickly looked down.

"I-I'm M-Mica, ano."

Eris looked at Mica, a light frown on her lips. Why was she so shy?

"Well Mica, can I ask why you were crying a little while ago? Did you loose to the Gym Leader?" Eris asked, somehow wanting to cheer up the girl. Mica shook her head.

"I-Its, ano...I mean, ano...I came to, ano..." She stuttered. Eris sighed, again, startling the girl.

"Yes?" Eris said, trying to get her to speak. Finally Mica looked up a little, her green eyes shining with tears again.

"I-I wanted to ask the Gym Leader for a pokemon, ano. B-but he was b-busy with a battle, s-so the attendant t-told me t-to come back l-later, ano. B-but my family is s-sending me to Dewford T-town in a f-few h-ours, ano." Mica explained. Eris stood there quiet for a moment, trying to get a grip as to what was said, taking out the stuttering.

"Hm. How about...I catch you...a pokemon?" Eris said slowly. Torchic looked up, startled. She knew her trainer wasn't exactly the type to go around offering such things. Torchic looked back down and straight at the blushing girl.

"R-really?" Mica exclaimed, Eris noticed that she even left out the 'ano'. Eris smiled and shifted Torchic in her arms.

Eris nodded and smiled, "Yeah. Really. How about you come with me, while I talk to someone, and then we'll go and catch your pokemon."

Mica's smile drooped a little, only a little. She wanted to get her pokemon as soon as possible, but knew that she shouldn't take advantage of Eris' kindness. Mica nodded and her eyes widened when Eris placed her arm on her shoulder's.

"Great. Now...we need to go back inside." Eris said, after letting Torchic hop out of her arms and onto the floor. The fire bird pokemon now walked close to Eris' feet, as Eris walked into the Gym, leading Mica along.

"Eris? What are you doing here?" Eris hear and both girls (Eris was still hanging on to Mica) looked to the side. There they saw a tall man, that despite his age still looked good. He wore a simple burgundy colored long sleeved sweater and dark blue slacks. His black hair was slicked back and his gray eyes, obviously were Eris got hers from, were shining with curiosity.

"Meh. Professor Birch gave me a pokemon," Eris started and motioned for Torchic to come forward by a gentle tap with her foot. Eris could feel Mica wiggling under her grip, the shy girl feeling uncomfortable.

"So, I decided to travel, get some of those badge things, and all that trainer jazz." Eris finished explaining as her father kneeled down to examine Torchic.

"Its a good color, vibrant orange. It seems a bit bigger than other Torchic though..." He muttered as he looked over Torchic. Torchic herself seemed to be enjoying to attention

"Torchic's a she, not it." Eris said, slightly hurt by the fact that her father didn't know Torchic was female. Her father looked up at her, and nodded.

"That explains her larger size. While females are a bit rarer, they tend to be a bit bigger and sometimes a bit stronger." He said, as if affirming himself more than Eris.

Eris herself sighed and shook her head. Her dad had always been like that. Finally he seemed to grudgingly tear his attention away from Torchic and turned to his daughter and her new friend.

"Its great to know you've taken quite an interest in pokemon, even if its at a late age. I assume Birch gave you what I left?" He asked, even though he knew his old friend wouldn't forget to do that. Eris nodded, a bit stiffly.

"Yeah."

"Thats good. Now, who is your friend here?" He asked, turning to look at Mica. Mica blushed under his gaze and Eris rolled her eyes, knowing Mica would take some time to introduce herself.

"This is Mica, and I volunteered to help her catch a pokemon." Eris introduced. Her father looked at Eris with slight surprise, a look with Eris returned with a raised eyebrow. He knew that his daughter rarely did random acts of kindness.

"That was...generous of you." He said slowly as if those were the best words he could think of. Eris' other eyebrow rose as well before she closed her eyes and let out a low sigh. Her father cleared his throat, getting Eris' attention.

"As I'm sure you know, you cannot obtain the Balance Badge until you have received four others." He said. Eris gave another sigh and nodded.

Of course she knew. How could she not? He was _only_ her father. She was there when he talked about his days at the Gym or those Leader conferences he was allowed to talk about.

"Of course I know. I wasn't expecting a battle Dad. I just came, mostly because mom told me to." She said. Mica looked quickly between the two. Something about their words made her fell like as if she had missed something or hadn't been listening well enough.

"Um...Hello? I'm here to get a pokemon from the Norman the Gym Leader..." They all heard a timid voice say from behind them. Eris and Mica looked over their shoulder's to see a short boy, about Mica's age with light green hair and eyes wearing a white shirt and jeans.

Norman looked over the two girls' heads, and smiled kindly at the boy. Eris had turned back around to look at her father, and noticed the smile. Her gray eyes hardened a bit and she bit her lip. Mica turned around also and looked down blushing.

"Yeah, well, I'll leave you to your Gym Leader business _Dad_. I'm going." Eris said sharply and let her arm fall off of Mica's shoulder. Norman looked at his daughter, surprised by her sudden change of attitude.

Torchic quickly went over to Eris' feet and scurrying along, trying to keep up with her. Mica hastily gave an apologetic bow and turned to follow Eris.

Torchic could hear a low growl coming from Eris and wondered if she should try to do anything, or _what_ she could do. Mica jogged after them, panting lightly.

Due to their long pace it didn't take them too long to exit the Gym, but Eris didn't stop. She continued to walk away from the Gym, Torchic and Mica having to run to keep up with Eris' long strides.

Eventually, to the relief of a panting Mica and worried Torchic, Eris stopped. There were at one of Petalburg's exits, the one that led to Route 104.

"Eris, ano? A-are you okay, ano?" Mica said hesitantly after Eris let herself fall to the floor, landing on her back. Torchic wandered up to her cautiously. Eris turned her head around and gave Mica a sharp look, before her eyes widened and she quickly sat up.

"Oh, I'm sorry Mica. I...I'll help you catch your pokemon now. So, what kind of pokemon, thats around here, would you like?" Eris said, trying to rid herself of her grim mood. Mica looked down, slightly startled by Eris' look and muttered something.

"What was that? Come on Mica! I can't hear you." Eris said, trying to bring Mica out of her shell. Mica slowly looked up and started to poke her two index fingers together as she seemed to be thinking.

"I-I-I d-don't have a p-preference, ano. Any p-pokemon is f-fine, ano." She said quietly. Eris had to strain her ears to hear what Mica said and then she bit her lip. Why was the girl so shy? Was it because of Eris' moody persona?

"Hey...How about a Wingull? I caught one a before coming into Petalburg." Eris said. Mica seemed thoughtful for a moment, before she quickly and vigorously nodded her head. She really wanted a pokemon, and wasn't going to be picky, a good thing for Eris.

Eris smiled and pulled out the ball that held the Wingull she had captured, with Torchic's help. Torchic herself watched as Mica hesitantly extended her hand and took the shiny ball.

'Tor! Torch Chic!' She chirped, her excitement getting the best of her. She didn't like that Wingull, and was glad to see Eris giving it to Mica.

"Thank you so much Eris!" Mica laughed as she held the pokeball closer to her chest. Eris smiled, a feeling of happiness bubbling up inside her.

Mica looked at Eris and smiled.

"Want to meet my mom? She works at the Pokemart." Mica said, proud. Eris raised and eyebrow and shrugged.

"Eh. Why not?" Eris said and was surprised when Mica boldly took hold of her hand and began to run back into town. A single pokemon had turned this shy girl into someone more outgoing.

At the speed they were going, it didn't take long to get to the Pokemart. Eris was pulled in and suddenly came face to face with the tired face of a woman.

The woman looked about as old as Eris' mom, but the lines on her face showed she hadn't gone through such a simple life as her mom. The woman was mopping a spilled potion, something some spoiled little brat had probably spilled during a tantrum.

"Mom! Mom! Guess what!" Mica yelled, letting go of Eris' hand and ran up to give her mother a hug. Mica's mom looked up surprised, as if she'd never seen Mica happy before, and returned the hug.

"What is it Mica?" She asked, wondering what miracle had her daughter like that. In a matter of seconds a pokeball was shown.

"I got a pokemon mom!" Mica said. Her mother frowned and bit and held on to her shoulder's.

"Were did you get that?" Her mother asked, her voice shaking. Mica's happy expression fell a bit and she looked back to Eris, who was standing there watching. Eris gave a small wave. Mica's mother let go of her and walked up to Eris.

"I'm so sorry if my daughter bothered you. You really didn't have to go out of your way to get her a pokemon. Please, take it back. We have nothing with which to pay you back for it." Her mother said quietly, not wanting Mica to hear. Eris frowned and looked at the jaded eyes.

"I won't take it back, I volunteered to get Mica a pokemon. I don't want anything for that." Eris said stiffly.

"You...volunteered?" Mica's mother whispered. Her hands went up to cover her mouth and her eyes watered.

"I...I...Thank you so much. I've never seen Mica so happy before." Her mother whispered to Eris and turned back to look at Mica. She seemed as if she wanted to say something, but was interrupted.

"Hey! Whats that the brat's holding?" A squeaky voice said. All three of them turned and saw a girl that looked like Mica, but with longer hair and brown eyes. Eris guessed she was older than Mica, but younger than herself.

"Sister! I-I g-got a p-p-pokemon, ano." Mica said to the other girl. Eris frowned, the appearance of this...Myra had made Mica go back to stuttering.

Myra scowled and stomped up to Mica, glaring at the younger girl.

"And how did you get a pokemon. You know mom can't afford one! You probably stole it!" Myra screeched. Eris frowned even more and was suddenly glad she was an only child. So this is why Mica was so shy.

"Sister! I-I d-didn't, ano." Mica said, her eyes tearing up. Finally, their mother walked up and separated the two girls. Myra looked up and glared questioningly at her.

"Its true, Mica didn't steal it. This young lady over here gave it to her." Their mother said. Myra looked past her mother and Mica, catching sight of Eris. Her eyes widened, seeing Torchic standing quietly by Eris' feet. Pushing past Mica, Myra went up to Eris and pointed at Torchic.

"Since you're giving pokemon away, give me that one!" Eris' gray eyes hardened, become like steel. A low grown erupted from her throat as she glared at Myra. Torchic heard the demand and quickly hid behind Eris' legs. Myra heard the low growl and took a step back.

"Get out of my face." Eris said slowly, making sure every word held a promise of pain. Myra's face fell and she jumped back. She looked at Eris once more before she turned around and ran out of the store, making sure to push Mica out of the way.

"I-I'm so sorry. Please excuse her." Mica's mother pleaded, wringing her hands. Eris looked her her and scowled.

"E-eris, ano. P-please c-calm d-down, ano." Mica's soft voice interrupted Eris. Eris looked down at Mica and slowly breathed in, trying to calm herself down.

"...Sorry about that I suppose. I just go so pissed she _demanded_ I give her Torchic. That little bi-" She started, but stopped, remembering her mom was there. The girls' mother looked down at her hands and sighed.

"I'm truly sorry about that..." The jaded woman whispered. Eris held back a scream. Why did Mica and her mother have to be so shy?

"Hey its okay. Its not your fault that girls a bi-," Eris said and corrected herself when Torchic pecked her ankle lightly, "That the girl is so spoiled."

Mica's mother looked up, her eyes full of thought. Eris didn't like that look. She was about to be asked for a favor, she just KNEW it!

"I...I'd like to ask you. Could you take Mica to Dewford Town? I was going to let Myra and Mica go, but that doesn't seem like it would be a good idea." The girls' mother said.

There were times Eris hated being right. This was one of them.

"I...I don't know..." Eris said slowly, looking down at Mica. Mica was once again tapping together her two index fingers and was looking down. Eris sighed.

_I'm not going to do any good deeds for a while._ She thought bitterly to herself and sighed.

"Okay. I'll take Mica to Dewford Town."

* * *

**Maya-ma**: Okay. I decided to update this story first cause I just wanted to put Mica in the story. I put a profile of each of my characters form both stories in my author profile, a little more info on Eris and Mica. R&R and Ja ne! 


	5. A Strange Encounter

**Disclaimer**: I don't own pokemon anime/manga/or game, I don't own it! So, now that we've got that out of the way...

* * *

The rest of the day wasn't so bad. Eris, as well as Mica, were enjoying their surroundings as the exited Petalburg. Eris could hear the cries of the Taillow just behind the trees, but for some reason they seemed agitated.

"Wow, hey Mica? Have you ever been here before?" Eris said and looked down to her side, only to find Mica had disappeared.

It took a few seconds for the disappearance to register in Eris' mind.

"Mica! Dammit! Not even one day and I've already lost her!" She yelled and t urned back, wondering if Mica had seen something that made her stop.

Eris backtracked, something she hated doing. It only took her a couple of minutes to reach Mica.

"Mica! What the he-" Eris began but was quieted by the pleading look in Mica's eyes. Slowly Eris' gray eyes followed Mica's and frowned.

There was the Wingull she had given Mica, and it was facing off against a strange bird pokemon. Quickly, Eris pulled out the pokedex that was given to her. It opened and the monotonous voice spoke and a picture of a common Taillow appeared.

_Taillow the Gutsy pokemon_

_Although it is small, it is very courageous. It will take on a larger Skarmory on equal footing. However, its will weakens if it becomes hungry._

Eris quickly looked back up at the wild Taillow and then back at the pokedex. It was strange...the coloring was off. Instead of being blue, like in the pokedex's picture, it was dark green with an orange chest and white underbelly. And what the hell was a Skarmory!

"Hey Mica, be careful. That Taillow's weird, its coloring is off." Eris warned her younger companion. Mica looked at Eris with frightened eyes, making Eris frown. Now what was it?

"Eris...I don't know how to battle. I don't even know Wingull's attacks!" Mica said desperately, her voice trembling. Eris resisted the urge to hit herself. She once again opened the pokedex, since even she didn't know Wingull's attacks.

"Man, I hope I get this right." Eris whispered to herself. She held back a yell of content when the pokedex began to speak again, signaling she'd done something right.

_Wingull LV: 7_

_Known attacks:_

_Water Gun_

_Growl_

_Supersonic_

The monotonous voice spoke again, reading off Wingull's stats. Eris looked back up at Mica, who seemed to have at least a clue as to what she was doing. Unfortunately, Taillow didn't give her a chance to figure out if she did.

Taillow flapped its wings, lifting itself off the ground before flying right at Wingull. Wingull didn't move, as if waiting for a command from Mica. Unfortunately for it, Mica didn't react quickly enough.

Taillow instantly began to use its beak to land some hits on Wingull before it glided away. Wingull gave a surprised and hurt screech, bringing Mica back into the battle. The Taillow wasn't going to wait for Mica. It instantly launched itself towards Wingull again. But this time, Mica knew what to do.

"Wait for it...Okay. Use Water Gun!" Mica yelled, though her voice trembled a bit. Wingull opened its yellow beak and obeyed. A weak looking, but apparently effective blast of water erupted from Wingull's beak, hitting Taillow at point blank range.

Wingull landed on the ground, its wings tired for having to flap so much to keep it up. Wingull was a glider, Eris decided.

The strange colored Taillow picked itself up with difficulty before weakly launching itself into the air again. It wasn't going to leave this fight, it wasn't going to quit. It would go on, until exhaustion itself defeated it. Wingull seemed to think the same thing, for it began to flap its wings again, making itself airborne.

Mica, of course, couldn't see that. Although Eris understood. Eris knew what that Taillow felt, pride. It wasn't going to back down, much like she wouldn't either.

"Hit it was another Water Gun Mica." Eris whispered to herself, trying to convey her thoughts upon the inexperienced girl, more so than Eris anyways.

Mica pursed her lips before yelling another command as Taillow launched itself at Wingull.

"Another Water Gun Wingull!" Mica yelled, getting into the battle. For a second, she felt something being pushed into her hand, but didn't think about it.

Eris smirked, from her position. She had taken a few seconds and rushed to Mica's side, pushing a pokeball into the girl's hand.

Again, Taillow managed to land a few devastating pecks upon Wingull. Wingull started to plummet down to earth upside down, before it suddenly did an impossible looking maneuver and flipped itself onto its back. From that position it let loose another Water Gun, hitting Taillow again at close range.

Both pokemon crashed upon the hard ground, loudly. Mica looked startled, and vaguely felt her arm being moved, not by her own will. She looked over her shoulder to find a grinning Eris. She turned around, following Eris' eyes. Mica's own eyes widened as she saw a red and white pokeball flying through the air, towards the strange colored Taillow.

Eris saw that Mica was too surprised to do anything right now, and took Wingull's pokeball, bringing back the tired pokemon before turning to look back at the pokeball with the struggling pokemon.

For what seemed like an eternity, the pokeball wildly shifted from left to right, showing just how much Taillow was fighting for its freedom. But it was in vain. Despite its tough will, it was too weak to fight for long. Soon the pokeball gave an affirmative 'ding', showing that Taillow was now captured.

It took a few seconds for Mica to register what had just happened, while Eris herself grinned madly behind her.

"Heh. Congrats Mica. Your first pokemon battle and capture." Eris said. Mica jumped, seemingly having forgotten Eris was behind her. Mica blushed and looked down.

"But it was you that threw that pokeball..." She said quietly. Eris looked down at the smaller girl, her grin growing.

"Me? Na! Technically it was you that threw it, and you that battled it, and you that captured it." Eris said turning Mica around. She forced the younger girl to walk forward, toward the newly captured pokeball.

"...Eris...Thank...you..." Mica whispered, Eris barely heard it, but smiled. Eris shrugged and looked up at the sky, not saying anything. Despite the shortness of the battle, time had gone by. It was getting dark, and Eris worried that they might not make it to Rustboro by nightfall.

Maybe if they hurried...

"Well, come on. We should get to Rustboro as soon as possible, before night falls." Eris said, her gray eyes not moving away from they sky. Mica looked at Eris and nodded, her eyes still filled with gratitude as she clutched the newly caught pokemon to her chest. Wingull's pokeball was also pushed into her hands.

It didn't take them too long for them to reach the entrance of the Petalburg Woods. There were no wild pokemon that attacked them, probably knowing what happened to the strangely colored Taillow.

They entered the Woods, Mica keeping close to Eris. Eris' hand hovered over Torchic's pokeball, ready to call out the fire bird.

Fortunately for them, the Petalburg Woods weren't that big and they had traveled through nearly half of it, with no wild pokemon encounters. That is, until they were stopped by two men. One was wearing a black business suit and glasses, something Eris considered stupid since they were in a dimly lit forest at NIGHT.

The other man was wearing a black and red costume. Another action Eris considered stupid. The man in the suit must have heard them come up because he quickly turned around and ran to Eris.

"Please! Your a trainer aren't you? Help me!" He pleaded, folding his hands. Eris frowned and crossed her arm. She remembered her promise of not doing any good deeds for a while.

Unfortunately, she wasn't given the chance to respond. The man in the red and black outfit grew furious at Eris' and Mica's arrival. He instantly pulled out a pokeball, holding it out for them to see.

"Heh. So what if you get that weak babe to help you. It won't make a difference, no matter how hard she tries!" The strangely clothed man growled and threw out his pokeball. A black and gray furred pokemon came out, baring its small fangs at them.

Eris groaned. She didn't have time for this! She was already tired, hungry and angry. She didn't need some sexist jerk telling her off. Eris' frown became a scowl and she threw Torchic's pokeball out as well.

_The one thing is...we need the training for my Gym battle. Luckily this jerk appeared._ She grimly thought.

"Mica, take this guy over there," Eris said without looking away and pointed in some random direction, "I'm going to take care of this sexist pig."

She heard Mica's small 'eep' and heard both Mica and the other man run over to the side. The other man that was facing Eris grinned maliciously.

"Heh. Ruffled your feathers eh?" He smirked and ordered his pokemon to attack. Eris held back a growl.

"Torchic! Evade its attack, then use Ember." She said in a low and dangerous voice. Torchic seemed to have picked up on her rage because she also glared at the pokemon running towards her.

The dual colored pokemon tried to tackle Torchic but her speed was greater and she moved out of the way. Eris moved along with her, and vaguely saw the other man moving as well.

Torchic opened her beak and let loose a series of glowing red fire towards the other pokemon. Sadly, it was an instant KO.

Torchic gave a victorious cry and walked backwards slowly towards Eris, doing everything to keep her trainer safe. Torchic could feel the bad vibes that radiated from that man, and Eris herself could feel something wrong.

"Kitty's got claws." The man growled angrily and he recalled his pokemon.

Eris finally let a growl erupt from her throat, slightly startling the opposing man. He seemed to recover after a few seconds and smirked, as if he enjoyed taunting Eris. He pulled some other device form a bag hanging off his waist and grinned maliciously.

"Like I said. This loss doesn't matter, we're going to get those Devon parts we need. I hope we do meet again my little Kitty." He said and threw something upon the ground.

Instantly the area was covered with smoke, making it hard to breathe. Eris couldn't risk having Torchic hurt and quickly recalled her pokemon, while she herself coughed tremendously.

She fell to one knee and soon felt a refreshing breeze as the smoke was blown away. She looked over to were the breeze came from, her eyes watering and her hand trying to cover her nose and mouth. There was Mica, her newly caught Taillow out, fanning away the smoke.

The man Eris had, unwillingly, rescued came up to her. He seemed to ignore her current state and pushed a strangely colored pokeball into her hands.

"Thank you so much for helping me. It was greatly appreciated." He said quickly before giving her a small bow and left.

Eris stayed there, her jaw agape. She tried to control her breathing, getting it under control as her brain tried to clear itself up from its foggy state.

Mica rushed over to Eris and hovered anxiously over her, the very trusting Taillow on her shoulder. Eris took a couple of deep breaths before standing up and shaking her head. She ignored Mica's worried questions and looked at the Taillow perched on Mica's shoulder.

"You are...trusting...and helpful." She said slowly, as if those were hardly the words she wanted to say. Taillow seemed to get a compliment out of that and cooed cheerfully. Mica smiled and recalled it into its pokeball before once again asking Eris questions.

Eris ignored them again and looked around nervously, as if afraid that man was still around. Soon she looked back down at Mica.

"Come on. Lets hurry and get to Rustboro." She said quickly, unnerved. Mica nodded hesitantly and gave a startled 'eep' when Eris began to move quickly out of the forest.

Due to Eris' quick stride, they soon reached the exit. They saw a long building there, but due to the time it was, it was closed. Across from a bridge, they saw bright lights and hurried over there. They knew it was Rustboro.

Eris continued to keep up her pace and barely registered the fact that Mica had to jog to keep up with her hurried strides.

"Eris? Eris...Eris!" Mica finally yelled, having Eris jump slightly. Eris could have never imagined Mica knew how to yell. She looked down at the smaller, and panting girl beside her. It took a few seconds for Eris to realize why Mica was panting.

"Oh...Sorry. I'm use to walking fast sometimes, I forget that I walk really fast..." Eris said, though her voice still sounded distracted. Mica looked up at Eris, the look in her eyes saying that she didn't believe her.

"Well...yeah. We need to hurry and have our pokemon healed as soon as possible." Eris said, trying to change the subject. Mica looked startled and looked down at the two pokeballs hanging off her belt. Eris smiled slightly, her tactic working.

They both rushed again towards the Pokemon Center. The entered and heard the _swoosh_ that came from the doors. From across the room, on the other side of a counter a young nurse looked up.

"Well, hello. You're out late. Can I help you?" The Nurse said kindly. Eris walked up towards her and nodded, handing her Torchic's pokeball.

"Yeah. Can you heal my pokemon, and my friend's as well." Eris said, as kindly as she could. The Nurse from across the counter smiled and pulled out to trays, placing Eris' pokeball in one and Mica's pokeballs in the other.

"There you go. Since its so late, I don't think your pokemon will be fully healed until tomorrow. Would you to like some rooms to spend the night in?" The Nurse said. Eris looked down at a tired Mica, Mica could barely keep her eyes open. She glanced over at the clock and frowned, finding in really was late, nearly midnight.

"Yeah. That'd be nice." Eris said as she looked away from the clock on the wall. The Nurse smiled and pulled out a Card Key. She handed it to Eris, smiling.

"Here you go. In each room there's four beds. You and your friend can have one each. Hope you have a good night." The Nurse said and quickly returned to her work, taking their pokeballs along.

Eris sighed, and gently pulled along a half asleep Mica.

* * *

**Maya-ma**: Eh. I don't have anything to say really...R&R please. 


	6. A Day Planned, Maybe Not

**Disclaimer**: I don't own pokemon anime/manga/or game, I don't own it! So, now that we've got that out of the way...

* * *

The next morning the two girls were awake...sort of...

"Eris...Eris...Eris, ano..." Mica's small voice whispered as she gently pushed Eris' shoulder, trying to wake up the older girl. Eris grumbled something, before she turned over.

Mica sighed and looked down at the tray of pokeballs on a counter between the beds. Her Wingull and Taillow were there, along with Eris' Torchic. Mica began to wonder slightly why Eris hadn't caught another pokemon. She shrugged and planned to ask that to Eris when she was awake.

"Ano...Eris...Nurse Joy said that if you want breakfast...You need to get up now..." Mica said, her voice slightly rising.

This seemed to have finally gotten Eris' attention because she opened one dazed looking gray eye and looked at her sleepily.

"What time is it?" Eris asked grumpily. Mica looked over to a clock that was next to their pokeballs and then turned back to Eris.

"Its nearly 11:00 am." Mica said.

Suddenly Eris jumped out of bed, wide awake. Eris had thrown the bed sheet up in the air and didn't notice it fluttering down, covering Mica completely.

"Damn! I'm late. I was suppose to get up early and train for a Gym battle!" Eris yelled. She then began to run around the room, trying to find her bag with clothes. Mica removed the sheet that covered her and placed it back on the bed and then sat down, watching Eris run around.

Finally, after a few more colorful words from Eris, both girls picked up their pokeballs and walked out, heading over to the cafeteria for breakfast...sort of.

"Damn. I can't believe I woke up this late." Eris grumbled to herself as she stabbed her plate of cold pancakes. Eris herself was just drinking some juice, she had woken up much earlier and had been able to eat a decent breakfast.

Eventually, Eris' hunger defeated her little moment and she ate her cold breakfast.

"Ano, Eris?" Mica mumbled, startling Eris into choking. As Eris gulped down some of her own juice, Mica was twiddling her fingers and looked down at her lap. When Eris regained her breath she looked up at her companion and raised a red eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"Ano, do...do you think..." Mica stammered, blushing. Eris crossed her arms and leaned back, willing to wait for Mica to finish her sentence.

"Doyouthinkwecangoseethepokemoncontestthatsintown!" She finally yelled out, though it was all a jumbled mass. Eris blinked in confusion. It was way to early (for her anyways) to make her brain work so hard.

"Rewind and play again in slow-mo please." Eris said after giving up on trying to figure out that extremely long sentence. Mica once again blushed and looked down.

"Do you think we can go see the pokemon contest thats in town?" She repeated, slower. Finally Eris got it and shrugged.

"I dunno. Maybe. When is it?"

Mica looked up hopefully. Eris inwardly winced, that look was much to innocent. Even she would have a hard time saying no to that.

"Its later today. At 5 pm." Mica said, clasping her hands together. Eris closed her gray eyes and began to think, not wanting Mica's hopeful look to influence her decision.

_Well, I do want to get some training done, so that'll give me time before my battle. If we go, I could leave Torchic here to rest up, and we can take on the Gym leader tomorrow._

Eris opened her eyes again and nearly jumped back. Mica was a bit too close for her comfort. Eris raised an eyebrow, silently telling the younger girl to back off a bit. Mica got the hint and sat back down on her seat.

"Yeah. I guess we could go." Eris said. She barely had time to brace herself, she was suddenly tackle hugged by Mica. Eris awkwardly sat there while Mica showed off her appreciation and happiness. Not really liking the hugging, Eris gently but firmly pried Mica off.

"Yeah. I'm going to go train with Torchic. Wanna come? You can also spend some time with Wingull and Taillow" Eris said, keeping her hands on Mica's shoulders. This was mainly to keep her from jumping on Eris again and to make sure she was paying attention.

Mica nodded eagerly, followed by a confirmation nod from Eris. Eris smiled and let go of the smaller girls' shoulders. After thanking the nurse, they went back to their room and picked up their bags.

Both girls went left the same way they had entered the night before, but kept close to the town just in case. All of their pokemon were released and were greeted happily.

Mica seemed to have a talent with pokemon because her Wingull and Taillow had already taken a liking towards her, though Wingull still showed arrogance towards Torchic. Torchic herself ignored the water/flying pokemon and greeted the newest addition, Taillow.

Mica and Eris stood off a bit to the side and watched as their pokemon interacted with each other.

"Okay, come on Torchic. We need to train for a while." Eris finally interrupted. Torchic looked back at Eris and chirped understandingly. The orange colored chick ran over to Eris' feet and puffed out her chest, making herself look tougher than she really was. Eris chuckled lightly and then picked up her pokemon.

"We'll be over there Mica." Eris said while looking to the left. Mica followed her vision and saw a nicely sized clearing. She nodded and ran over to her own bird pokemon as Eris walked over to the previously mentioned clearing.

"Okay Torchic. I talked with the nurse and she said that the Gym Leader here uses rock pokemon. So that would mean you are at a disadvantage. But, so what? That little detail isn't going to stop us, right?" Eris said to Torchic as she crouched down near the bird like pokemon. Torchic looked up at Eris and chirped her agreement while jumping up and down flapping her wings.

"Thats right! Now! Lets work on your speed..." Eris said as she stood back up. Torchic followed her trainer's movements with her head and waited eagerly.

As Eris began to train Torchic's speed, Mica herself was sitting down with her oddly colored Taillow and her Wingull. As Mica was talking with her own pokemon, trying to ignore Eris' yells, she heard a small whimper. Taillow and Wingull also heard it too and looked over in the direction that Mica was crawling to.

A small brown colored pokemon was hiding in some bushes. A lighter brown colored fur puffed out from its neck and the same light colored fur was on the tip of its tail. Mica gasped and the small pokemon looked up at her fearfully.

"ERIS!" Mica yelled when she turned toward her training friend. The small pokemon became startled and tried to retreat further into the bushes, but was stopped by Wingull and Taillow. The two bird pokemon 'talked' to the frightened pokemon while Mica gained Eris' attention.

Eris groaned as she picked herself up, Torchic gave a weak chirp from under her.

"Sorry Torchic, didn't mean to step on you...and trip on you...and fall on you." Eris apologized as she picked up her poor chick pokemon. Eris shot an annoyed look in Mica's direction and without looking away, she pulled Torchic into her pokeball.

Eris slowly got up and walked in Mica's direction at an even slower pace, grumbling all the way.

"This better be..." She trailed off seeing the small brown pokemon. Mica and her pokemon had managed to bring out the brown pokemon. Mica was now cradling it in her arms and Eris pulled out her pokedex.

_Eevee_

_Eevee has an unstable genetic makeup that suddenly mutates due to the environment in which it lives. Radiation from various Stones causes this Pokemon to evolve. _

Eris quickly closed her pokedex and peered down at the Eevee in Mica's arms. On its hindquarters was a putrid looking bruise, a clear indication of poisoning.

"We need to take it back to the pokemon center. Its been poisoned." Eris said sharply and began to push Mica back towards Rustboro City. The two flying pokemon flew right behind them.


	7. A Day Gone

**Disclaimer**: I don't own pokemon anime/manga/or game, I don't own it! So, now that we've got that out of the way...

* * *

"Exactly were did you find this Eevee?" The redheaded nurse asked a panting Eris and Mica. Eris was the first one to regain her breath and answered. 

"Just outside of the city. It was hiding in a bush." Eris answered after having regained her breath quicker than Mica. Eris moved her head and followed the pink Chansey that was placing the Eevee on a stretcher.

Nurse Joy gave a quick nod and gave Eris a clipboard with some papers on it.

"Please fill these out. Its standard procedure, since it is not your pokemon." She said and then followed Chansey. Eris sighed and looked at the papers in her hands, Mica was looking over her shoulder.

"Paperwork, yay." Eris said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Mica laughed lightly and peered over in the direction the Nurse took.

"Eris," Mica said and turned to Eris who had now sat down and began to fill out those papers, "you think that Eevee was a wild one?" Eris didn't answer for a moment, too busy with writing something down.

"Hm, how the hell am I suppose to know what poisoned it?" Eris grumbled to herself as she hit a hard question on the form. She looked up, her gray eyes looking at Mica's worried ones.

"I doubt it. Eevee are very rare pokemon. To get one it has to be bred, good luck finding one in the wild. It has to belong to someone." She said and finally scribbled 'pokemon' on the hard question. It was an obvious answer.

Mica turned back to look at the direction that Nurse Joy and Chansey had taken Eevee. Eris had gone back to being frustrated by the stupidly obvious questions that were on the paper.

"Argh! Screw this, of course we were the ones who found it!" Eris yelled, startling Mica into looking back at her. Eris swiftly got up and threw the clipboard down were she was previously sitting. Mica cracked a small smile, viewing Eris' frustration as funny. Funny enough to take her mind off the gravely ill Eevee.

"Heh, guess we're not going to get to see that contest you wanted to see." Eris finally said after a moment of silence. Mica's eyes widened, she had completely forgotten about that.

"Yeah...I wasn't...wasn't that interested in it." Mica mumbled and looked down. Eris rolled her eyes, remember just how much the girl was jumping up and down in excitement. If that wasn't interest, then Eris got along with her father.

"We could still go you know." Eris said. Mica stood still for a moment before shaking her head.

"It wouldn't feel right. We'll be out enjoying ourselves while Eevee is in pain." Mica said and turned back to look at the direction Eevee was taken. Eris sighed and sat back down, only to sit on the previously discarded clipboard. She took it out from under her and tossed it on the floor.

The wait was horrible. Every time Eris looked at the clock, ten minutes had passed. How hard was it to cure a poisoning?

Soon Eris changed positions, she laid down on her back.

Ten minutes passed.

She changed again, this time she was upside down on the seat.

Another ten minutes.

Finally, the head rush was too much and she sat back down properly. Eris looked at Mica in wonder. The girl hadn't moved at all.

After another ten minutes, Eris had had enough. With a grunt she stood up and stretched.

"I'm going to get something to eat. You should come too." She said. Her voice left no room for objections. Mica, startled and a bit frightened, looked back at Eris and wordlessly nodded.

Both of them walked toward the cafeteria. Mica simply picked a table and sat down on it while Eris went and got something to eat.

Eris ate her food contently while Mica played with her fingers, trying to keep her mind off the Eevee. Eris paused and looked at Mica before rolling her eyes and continuing.

"I don't know why you're so worried. Its not your pokemon. Either way, its going to be fine. Nurse Joy isn't going to let anything happen to it." Eris said as she wiped her mouth, having finished all of her food. Mica continued to do what she was doing, frustrating Eris.

She was about to say something when someone interrupted them.

"Oh! Here you two are. About the Eevee you found, its going to be okay. I've even managed to find its trainer." The happy Nurse told Eris and Mica. Both girls looked up and gave the Nurse a surprised look. Already found its trainer?

Both of them hurried after Nurse Joy. They both wanted to see the Eevee's trainer.

Since Eevee's condition had stabilized, it had been moved to a small room. The poisoning must have been really bad. They walked in and saw a boy about Eris' height. He was wearing a long sleeved dark blue jacket and black pants. His back was towards them, so he didn't see them enter, but probably heard them.

Eris lightly coughed into her hand, getting his attention. The boy turned to them through his shaggy brown hair, tired gray eyes could be seen. Eris let the hand she faked a cough in fall and Mica rushed forward to the Eevee. The small pokemon was asleep, resting.

The boy gave them a curious look before the corner of his lips twitched.

"I'm guessing it was you two that found my Eevee?" He said. Eris simply nodded. By his voice, she guessed he was younger than her and older than Mica. The boy turned to look at Eevee with Mica at its side before turning to look back at Eris.

"I...thank you for finding Eevee and bringing it here." He said. Eris smiled.

"Heh. No problem. But, just what happened?" She asked. She wanted to know how the two could have possibly gotten separated. The boy looked back at his pokemon.

"We were training between the north of Rustboro and Meteor Falls, when a Seviper attacked. Eevee is still a young pokemon, so that Seviper's poison hit Eevee extremely hard. In its confusion it ran away." He said. Eris sighed. It must have had a tough time getting to were they were.

"Oh. How rude of me. My name is Isaac." He said. Eris smirked a bit, she had forgotten to introduce themselves.

"Nice to meet you Isaac. I'm Eris, the girl that actually found your Eevee is Mica." Mica, having heard her name looked up from the Eevee and waved shyly at Isaac.

"Ano, I'm glad your Eevee is going to be okay." She said in a voice above a whisper and looked down. Eris raised an eyebrow, while a smile tugged at her lips.

"Well, its good to know your Eevee's going to be okay and that you've both found each other. But we've got to go. Nice meeting you Isaac, maybe we'll see each other again." Eris said after a long moment of silence. Mica looked at Eris in slight surprise before rushing over to her side. Both girls waved at Isaac, a wave that he returned before they left.

"Heh. Guess my battle's going to be postponed till tomorrow. Its too late now. Maybe that contests thing that you wanted to see will happen again tomorrow." Eris said as she steered the younger girl back to their room.

"Maybe. I'm really glad that Eevee's going to be okay that that its trainer was found." Mica said again. Eris laughed and opened the door to their room.

"Yeah, yeah. We've said that so much already."


	8. First Gym Battle

**Disclaimer**: I don't own pokemon anime/manga/or game, I don't own it! So, now that we've got that out of the way...

* * *

"Oh! Not again." Mica groaned as she stood next to a sleeping Eris. Eris gave an incoherent mumble and turned over, covering her red hair with her blanket. Mica sighed and began to nudge Eris' shoulder.

It took a while, but finally Eris opened one gray eye and looked at Mica sleepily.

"What?" She groaned. Mica frowned and shook her shoulder again when she noticed Eris begin to fall asleep again. Eris gave a her sleepy glare, but it held no effect.

"Its 11 am again. You're oversleeping." Mica said. At hearing this, Eris' eyes widened and she threw her covers off to the side.

"I asked you to wake me up earlier Mica!" Eris yelled as she changed her clothes. Mica looked down.

"I tried to. You said you'd get right up and so I went down to get breakfast." Mica said and began to fiddle with her fingers. Eris groaned as she hit her elbow against the wall.

"I'm a heavy sleeper. I need more to wake me up." She said and finished putting on her shirt. Eris grabbed her pack and Torchic's pokeball. Mica looked up and nodded silently. Eris was already at the door and looked over her shoulder at Mica.

"Come on. I want to get this battle over with so we can leave." She said and watched as Mica rushed over to get her own stuff. They both left and left the room key with Nurse Joy.

"Eris? Do you think Eevee and Isaac are going to be alright?" Mica asked after walking next to Eris in silence for a while. Eris looked down her shoulder to the shorter girl and frowned.

"Of course. Isaac is a trainer. He must know what to do." Eris said. This hardly did anything, making Eris sigh heavily and stopped right in front of Mica.

"Mica, stop worrying about that Eevee and its trainer. Its not yours so you have nothing else to do with it so its pointless to worry. Worry about your Taillow and Wingull instead."

Mica looked startled for a moment and then she turned her eyes downward to her own pokeballs. Eris turned back and continued walking, Mica following silently beside her.

"...Eris? Were are we going?" Mica asked as she noticed they had reached the bridge outside of Rustboro. Eris smirked and looked down her shoulder.

"We're going to the Petalburg Woods. There's this pokemon I've been wanting to catch. I sort of saw it when we came through the woods the first time at night."

Mica looked ahead and saw the darkening woods ahead of them. Eris kept walking only to notice Mica wasn't anymore. She turned back and saw that Mica was admiring a flower shop across from the Woods' entrance.

"Ano...Eris? Is it okay if I stay in that flower shop instead of going into the forest?" Mica asked and looked at Eris. She crossed her arms and debated it in her head.

Finding that pokemon would be easier and faster without Mica, however mean that may sound. But she was suppose to stay with Mica until they got to Dewford. Eris couldn't decide, but she finally made up her mind when she looked at Mica's pleading eyes and sighed.

"Fine. Don't you dare leave here. I'll be back when I catch that pokemon." Eris said. Mica's eyes lit up and she nodded happily while grinning. She then turned around and ran into the shop. Eris grinned, knowing her search would now go much faster.

Or at least she thought. She had been in the forest for at least two hours and still hadn't found that pokemon she was looking for. She'd run into Wurmple, Taillow, Cascoon, Silcoon and other pokemon, but not the one she was looking for!

Torchic wasn't looking so good, and neither was Eris. They had managed to run from a flock of Taillow, only to fall into a swampy area of the Woods. She didn't even know swampy areas were in woods. They were both muddy, tired, and annoyed.

'Tor! Torchic Tor Tor Chic!' Torchic chirped her opinion as they sat down on a large tree root to rest. Eris looked down at the orange pokemon in her lap.

"I know this is taking longer than I thought, but I really want that pokemon. It'll be great help at the Gym here, and maybe in the rest as well!" Eris argued with Torchic. Torchic resigned and nestled herself better in Eris' lap.

"Oh my. What a sight! Excuse me young lady, but have you seen a man a bit older than you with a Wingull around?" Eris heard an elderly voice say. She turned around and took Torchic in her arms. An old man was standing there, in the same condition as herself and her pokemon.

"A guy with a Wingull? Can't say I have. Why?" She asked. Torchic hardly noticed it change of position and continued to sleep. The old man across from her looked up and frowned.

"My darling Peeko was stolen by a man earlier. He was wearing a white and black striped shirt and blue jeans with a blue bandanna. I was hoping he was still in the Woods, so I could get back Peeko." He said and with a jaded sigh, sat down. Eris frowned and walked closer to him.

A pokemon theft. How low.

"I'm not really sure about what I can do, but if I see a guy like that, with a Wingull of course, I guess I could try to find out if it was your...Peeko." Eris said. She didn't really like giving pokemon nicknames, but some people loved it.

The old man's eyes lit up and he looked up at Eris. He grinned and pulled out of his pocket a pokeball.

"This is Peeko's pokeball. When you find him, please call him back and bring him to me." He said and wrapped Eris' hands around the red and white device. Eris laughed nervously and pocketed the pokeball.

"Heh, no prob. You know there's no guarantee that I'll find your Peeko, right?" She said. The old man smiled wistfully and looked away.

"I know, but I can't keep going. Its bad for a man my age to be doing something so rigorous, even when thats all he wants to do. Please, try." He said. Eris nodded and watched as the old man slowly got up and walked away at a slow pace.

"...Damn. I'm stocking up on those good deeds. I didn't even get his name. Oh well, there's no guarantee that I'll find his pokemon. So...I'll continue with my own search." She said and nudged the sleeping Torchic with her toe. She had set down the orange pokemon before the old man gave her the pokeball.

Torchic jumped up and seemed ready for action.

"Glad to see you've gotten re-energized. Now, lets go find that darn pokemon." Eris laughed and walked forward with Torchic at her side.

Mica watched anxiously for any sight of Eris. The older trainer had been gone for two hours, worrying her. She wondered just how elusive that pokemon was, or if it was too strong for even Eris.

Mica's light green eyes looked down at the covered disk in her hands. She had won it from the flower shop for being the 1000th visitor. They told her it was a TM, a Technical Machine. It contained the data for teaching a grass pokemon Bullet Seed.

Mica really didn't have any use for it. She didn't have a grass pokemon, so Taillow and Wingull couldn't learn it. Maybe she'd give it to Eris, Eris should find a good use for it. Yeah, that's what she would do.

When Eris got back that is.

She sighed and leaned back on the bench she was on. It was right outside the flower shop and looked right at the exit/entrance for the Woods. She had let her Taillow and Wingull out for some fresh air and they were currently doing spin dives in the air.

About an hour ago she'd seen a guy dressed like a skinny sailor run out of the Woods with a Wingull in his arms. Maybe it too was injured, like the Eevee. She really wanted to help, but remembered that Eris had told her not to leave. Mica didn't want Eris mad at her, so she stayed.

It was the clamor that her Taillow made next that made Mica jump up and made her relieved. Eris had walked out, Mica's two bird pokemon flying around their trainer's friend. Mica ran up to Eris as well.

"Finally. I was worried. You said it wouldn't take long." Mica said. Eris laughed.

"I never said how long it would take. At least I caught the pokemon, and took some time to train Torchic and it."

Mica looked at Eris' belt and noticed three pokeballs.

"What about the third?" She asked. Eris sighed and shook her head.

"Don't worry about that. Its not mine." She said. She didn't want Mica to worry, knowing now that Mica would. Mica herself wanted to know.

"Ano...Okay."

"Come on. Lets get back to Rustboro. I want to get them healed quickly before the battle." Eris said and began to walk. Mica quickly rushed after her, her two bird pokemon followed.

"Ano...Eris? What pokemon did you catch?" Mica asked as they were crossing the same bridge as earlier. Eris looked down at the younger girl and smirked.

"You'll see."

"Can you heal my pokemon Nurse Joy?" Eris asked and held out two pokeballs. Nurse Joy smiled and took the offered devices.

"Of course. This'll only take a few minutes." She said and turned around, placing the red and white balls in a machine with slots.

"Oh, please tell me Eris! I want to know what pokemon you caught!" Mica pleaded. Eris only winked at her as she took a big gulp of a juice she had gotten from the Pokecenter's cafeteria.

"You'll see." Was all she said.

"Here are your pokemon. I wish you luck on your battle Eris." The redheaded nurse said. Eris smiled and thanked the nurse. Mica waved good bye to Nurse Joy also and thanked her for taking care of them those two days.

"Welcome to Rustboro City's Gym. I'm Roxanne, the Gym Leader." Eris looked at the older woman across from her. Her brown hair was in a strange way placed into some pigtails and she was wearing a blue dress with pink stockings.

"Um...I figured. I'm Eris. I guess its obvious that I've come here to challenge you to a battle." Eris said and held up a pokeball.

Across from Eris, Roxanne smiled and brought out her own pokeball. Mica had separated herself from Eris and had sat down on a bench off to the side of the battle area.

"Of course. You don't seem like you want to take a class, so why else would a cocky looking girl walk in?" Roxanne taunted, trying to get Eris to loose her temper. Eris smirked, knowing what Roxanne was trying to do, knowing that she wasn't going to loose her temper over a small taunt like that. Eris could do better ones.

"Hilarious."

"This is now a battle between Gym Leader Roxanne and Trainer Eris. A battle with no time limit and only the challenger is allowed to substitute. Trainers...begin!" The Gym's official referee yelled. Both females threw out their pokeballs.

Roxanne's pokemon was a living boulder with two extremely muscled arms on the sides. It floated above the ground confidently and ready for the upcoming battle.

Eris' pokemon came next. Mica finally saw what pokemon Eris had been so intent on catching, and she wasn't really impressed.

It was small. Very small. It was a gray-green like mushroom with dark green spots over its nearly non-existent body and its small feet underneath it. It had a sour look on its face, making it seem as if it really didn't want to be there.

The battle didn't last long. Her newly caught pokemon had quickly knocked out Roxanne's first two rock pokemon.

The third one was harder. Eris had managed to hurt it significantly, but her Shroomish had been knocked out before any more damage could be done. So, she called on Torchic.

It looked bad for Eris. While Torchic had speed on its side, its fire attacks had no effect on Roxanne's Nosepass.

Then, to everyone's surprise, Torchic evolved. Then, the battle went in Eris' favor. Combusken was able to use its new physical attacks to quickly get rid of Nosepass.

"That was a good battle. You were lucky your Torchic evolved during the match, without it, you would have lost." Roxanne congratulated Eris as she handed over Eris' first badge. Eris grinned and nodded, Mica was beside her, looking at her new Combusken.

"Thanks Roxanne." Eris said. They talked for a little longer before leaving.

"That was amazing Eris. So, your new pokemon was a Shroomish?" Mica asked as she carried the grumpy looking pokemon. Eris smiled at her newest addition.

"Yup. Took me forever to find it." She answered.

They were leaving the Pokemon Center for the second time that day, Eris' pokemon healed. Shroomish was handed back to Eris, and placed back into its pokeball.

"Hey! Watch it!" Eris growled when someone knocked into her. The person ran off, not bothering to look back or apologize.

"Creep." Eris growled as Mica help her gain her balance.

"Oh! Its you two again! You can help me, again!" A flustered voice said from behind them.

"Oh no." Eris groaned, Mica sighed.


	9. Rusturf Rumble

**Disclaimer**: I don't own pokemon anime/manga/or game, I don't own it! So, now that we've got that out of the way...

* * *

"Oh! Its you two again! You can help me, again!" A flustered voice said from behind them.

"Oh no." Eris groaned, Mica sighed. They both turned around, and saw a man wearing a business suit and glasses. The same man from the forest the other night.

"Sorry, that was a one time deal." Eris said before grabbing Mica's arm and began walking away. The man gave out a half-groan half-sob.

"Please! You've got to." He said. Eris shook her head and continued walking. Mica looked over her shoulder, feeling slightly bad for him.

"Eris? What's the harm in helping him?" Mica whispered. Eris looked down at her, slightly surprised.

"There really isn't much harm. I just don't want to help." Eris answered.

"Please! You'll be rewarded!" The man yelled/sobbed. This made Eris stop and turn, a strange look on her face that made Mica worry.

"It better be more that a Great Ball." Eris said between her teeth, while still grinning. Mica sighed and hugged Eris' arm, trying to keep the situation from escalating into something worse.

"Yes, I promise!" The man yelled and pointed at the direction the person that had ran into them went. Eris grinned, and it wasn't a happy grin either.

"Alright! Mica, stay here with this guy. If anything happens, send one of your pokemon to get me." Eris said and pried her arm away from Mica's hug before she took off running after the thief, leaving Mica and the man slightly amazed at her speed.

"She's fast." He gasped and looked down at Mica, Mica looking up at him, nodding in agreement.

_The freak can't be too far off..._ Eris thought as she kept up her quick jog, her gray eyes looking from side to side, trying to find a clue as to where the thief had gone.

The scenery was just a blur that soon become a gray blur to a green blur, she'd left the city. She ran past a few bug catchers, not wanting to stop and not having the time to battle or see what kind of pokemon there might be to catch.

She slowed down a bit when she saw a house up ahead. She wasn't as tired as she might have been, those shoes her mom bought her were pretty handy.

"Hey, Miss, don't go into the tunnel. A Magma member has been reported to be inside with a hostage pokemon." A burly man said and stopped her in mid stride with a large hand. That wasn't something she was expecting, and it showed as she reeled backwards and landed on her behind, a look of confusion clouding her face.

"Sorry Miss. I just can't let you in until the authorities get him." The large man said, his tone apologetic, Eris blinked. Magma? She didn't know who they were, but by the mentioning of the authorities, she guessed they were something like Rocket in Kanto...

Time to tell a little white lie.

"But sir! That pokemon he's got is mine, I can't let him get away with my pokemon!" She yelled and managed to get on all fours, a look of desperation overtaking confusion. The man's eyes widened and grabbed her shoulder's, pulling her up. Inwardly, she winced. He was strong.

"Then, you're a trainer? Maybe you can get rid of the Magma member!" He grinned, and Eris felt a small twinge of regret for having to gain his trust with a lie.

"Yeah, count on me! I'll get my pokemon back and get rid of that loser!" She yelled. The large man grinned even wider and pushed her towards the entrance, yelling at all of the cave workers to allow her in. The twinge grew.

"It better be a very, very good reward." Eris muttered, careful to keep the man from hearing.

They let her go in alone, after she manged to convince them that one person could move around much more quickly and quietly that a group.

The cave, Rusturf Tunnel really she learned, was a strangely foggy place. It was slightly hard to see, so that made Eris quite cautious.

If Magma was like Team Rocket, then she would have to be as careful as possible. It was a good thing she didn't encounter any pokemon either, that would've complicated things to a scale she didn't want.

"Damn. Just how am I suppose to get through this?!" An annoyed voice was the first thing Eris heard in a while. She carefully ducked down and squatted behind a rock, trusting it and the fog to conceal her.

A bit ahead was the man that had bumped into her and Mica back in the city, wearing the same outfit as the man that they'd run into in Petalburg Forest.

Eris looked ahead and saw the object of his annoyance, and next to his feet she caught sight of a cage thought she couldn't see what was inside of it.

"Simple mission they said. Damn them." The man growled. Eris held back a sigh, she couldn't come up with a plan.

"Hey, dork. Didn't expect to see you again." She sneered and stood up from her spot, placing her hands on her hips. The man growled and turned, though his eyebrow did rise when he saw it was Eris.

"Well, Kitty's gotten affectionate." He taunted back, making Eris frown. Yeah, a plan would've been nice.

"Give me back what you stole." Eris said, not wanting to prolong this meeting. He apparently had no qualms about that.

"Why? It's not yours." He said, a near perfect picture of innocence. Eris frowned even more and began to walk forward.

"Stop." He growled. Eris ignored him and continued walking forward.

"Either you stop, or the pokemon gets it." He commanded and kicked the cage Eris had seen earlier. Inside was a terrified Wingull. Seeing this Eris did stop.

"How pathetic can you be? No better than Team Rocket." Eris muttered though the cave echoed and magnified the words, making sure the Magma member heard. His eyes narrowed and he stepped harshly on top of the cage, making the already frightened Wingull cry out.

"Don't compare a Magma member to those pathetic thieves."

Eris held back a smirk, she knew how to make him forget about the Wingull. Though she wasn't too sure about the words she was going to say next, she 90 sure they were true.

"Well yeah, Team Rocket doesn't take such low level pokemon from old men." She taunted. Slowly, one of her hands had fallen from her waist and was slowly inching towards the one pokeball who's resident was missing. She waited, watching for the exact time to put her half though of plan into action.

"Damn you. I'll show you not to compare us to those simpletons!" He snapped, making Eris smirk. His foot had fallen from the cage, so there was no way he could have blocked the oncoming red light that flew towards it. Inside Eris cheered. One request down, one to go.

"Well Peeko, the old man is missing you." Eris said as she quickly shrunk the Wingull's pokeball and replaced it with one of her own.

"Now, how about we 'discuss' the 'ownership' of the second item, dork." Eris grinned as she added the nickname and held out her pokeball.

"My name is Aaron, not dork. Got it Kitty?" He growled and pulled out his own pokeball and threw it forward. Eris threw hers as well.

"Let's end this quickly Poochyena." Aaron growled and ordered his dual colored pokemon to attack.

"Let's hurry, I'm already bored here." Eris yelled at Shroomish and also ordered it to attack.

The battle was one sided. Shroomish paralyzed Poochyena early on in the battle and with a few well aimed Bullet Seeds, the battle was over.

"Getting a bit better Kitty." Aaron grudgingly said as he recalled his pokemon and threw something at Eris. She caught it, making sure to keep her eyes on Aaron the Magma member. He smirked and pulled out a few small pellets and threw them on the ground. In the already foggy area it became impossible to see far. All Eris could hear was Aaron's disappearing voice.

"Get strong kitty, I want to battle you again." Eris cursed and coughed as she stumbled out of the Rusturf Tunnel.

She ignored all the questions and voiced concerns and continued to walk back into the city.

"Eris!" She stopped as she heard Mica's happy voice and managed to keep her balance as the younger girl jumped on her.

"Get...off." Eris coughed.

"You're simply amazing! Come, I got a call from the Devon President, he wants to meet you."

The next thing Eris knew she was standing in a beautifully furnished office looking at an aging man across a large desk.

"Well done young lady. I thank you for helping my assistant here." The Devon Corp. President thanked Eris. His assistant brought out a weird device and offered it to Eris.

"This is a pokenav. Its a GPS system and phone." The President said as Eris turned the device over.

"So, its like a better version of the Pokegear?" Eris asked, turning her gray eyes to the President.

"Ah, I see. You're talking about Silph Company's PokeGear. But yes, it is an improved version that is designed specifically for Hoenn." He explained.

"Mr. Stone...ano..." Mica started but quieted down when all eyes turned to her. Eris sighed and motioned for her to continue.

"Ano...no, never mind. Please, forgive my intrusion." Mica apologized and bowed. Eris sighed once again and rolled her eyes while Mr. Stone and his assistant chuckled.

"Well, I thank you for the PokeNav. But we've got to go. I want to get to Dewford as quickly as possible." Eris said and excused herself and Mica.

"Lets hurry. I've got one more delivery before we find a way to get to Dewford." Eris said, startling Mica.


End file.
